There is fruit growing in our garden despite the cold temperatures and one inch snowfall yesterday. The Bradford Pear tree in our front yard finally dropped all its leaves and is now adorned with its own little ball ornaments. The tiny pears are inedible to humans, but tasty to birds. Last year, huge flocks of Starlings swirled around the Bradford Pear tree like dark smoke then perched on the tree’s bare branches and pecked at its dangling pears. We haven’t seen the Starlings descend on our tree yet this season.

One of the Nandina shrubs in our front yard has clusters of bright red winter berries. I haven’t seen a bird munch on these nutritious red berries yet because they harvest the Nandina berries in late winter. I am glad our garden has winter treats to attract hungry birds. The fluttering brown, grey, red and blue feathers add life to the quiet winter garden.

What kind of winter treats for birds or other critters do you have in your garden?

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About McArtor

Organic gardener keeping a journal of our community garden plot and other adventures in growing things on the earth.

5 Responses to Bradford Pear Tree

I too have a Bradford pear relative, a Redspire. I also have viburnum and a few other berry producers. But the pear always has fruit through the end of winter. It is the last tree to have food for wildlife and the wildlife come only when no other berries or seed is left. They do not seem to like it here in the Falls. Even the starlings strip the viburnum first and leave the pear. The crabapple was the same was way too.

Maybe it is because you have a different climate to make them a bit sweeter. It is great to have all the fluttering in winter. I love to look out the window and see the birds, knowing, I drew them here with plants and seed.

Since Bradford Pear’s fruit is relatively inconspicuous, it’s easy to overlook its value (for those of us focused on design at least). Have you had any problem with storm damage on the Bradford? We’ve stopped specifying them because of that issue, but I am reading that ‘Chanticleer’ is stronger.

I don’t have much ‘natural’ winter food for birds in my small garden, so I put out sunflower kernels for them. The smaller birds in particular (for instance Goldfinches and Great Tits) go mad for them. Unfortunately, so do the squirrels, and a squirrel can eat as much in ten minutes as a Goldfinch can eat in a day!